Network jacks, such as conventional RJ45 wall jacks, are configured to provide connectivity to a communication network. Unfortunately, that connectivity can become lost or otherwise deviate from its desired condition, for a variety of different reasons. For example, a cable behind the network jack can get unplugged from a switch or other network device at the other end of the cable. As another example, a remote switch, or something in the network behind such a switch, can become damaged or misconfigured in any number of ways. Unfortunately, when using conventional network jacks such as the typical RJ45 wall jacks noted above, it is impossible to determine by looking at the jack whether it is still providing the desired network connectivity.
One known approach to determining the network connectivity of a conventional network jack is to plug a network tester into the jack. These devices perform various tests on the network behind the jack and report the results. However, there are at least two problems with using existing network testers to determine jack connectivity. First, these devices are expensive, with many units costing on the order of several thousands of dollars. Hence, the network testers typically must be shared among multiple groups of users within a given facility. Second, these devices can take upwards of half a minute to fully test the network connectivity of a single network jack. Thus, the amount of time required for periodically verifying the functionality of all the network jacks within a particular computer lab or other facility can be prohibitive, and as a result such verifications are generally not performed. Instead, network administrators or technicians often just wait until something stops working, and then have to hunt slowly and tediously for a jack that has lost proper connectivity.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved approach to determining network connectivity of network jacks.